As you start the climb up the east side of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, there is a little turn off to this spot. As it is at a higher elevation than the Estes Park valley, this area serves as a bit of a harbinger of the change in colors to come to lower spots in the weeks that follow.

This past Saturday I headed up that way in search of some Colorado gold and while it wasn’t abundant, there was enough yellow aspen to drive home the point that autumn is here. Throw in those crazy, deep blue skies and the moon and there were some nice scenes to capture.

Somewhat of a cliché picture of a type that is probably overdone but I always like taking these.

I shot this last Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park in one of the few stands of trees that was showing some nice color. I certainly would have preferred blue skies above but haze from wildfires was intruding and giving the sky a milky appearance.

Nevertheless, it was a peaceful morning and one I enjoyed as I hiked through this area, enjoying the silence and peace.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The change of seasons is upon us with the autumnal equinox and fall having arrived this morning. Here in Colorado, we are hoping for a break from the unseasonably warm and dry conditions but that does not appear in the cards for the foreseeable future.

The fall color show in the high country is starting in earnest right now although from what I am hearing, it is a bit hit or miss as drought has taken its toll on a lot of the foliage.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I may not get in my annual fall foliage drive, something I would normally be doing today or tomorrow. So, for this image, I jump back to 2016 and this spot along Geneva Creek on Guanella Pass. The area is one of the most popular for viewing the fall colors and for good reason

A throwback image to last year on my fall foliage drive at the end of September and one I haven’t shared before.

Last year I didn’t have a great deal of luck with my timing but hopefully this year will be better. After the hot summer we had, lots of folks are ready to rush autumn in but I am not necessarily one of them as I do love warmer weather.

On my last couple of trips to the high country, I noticed some leaves already changing and, unfortunately, lots of stands of trees quite brown or with burnt edges on the leaves, an indicator of the hot, dry summer we have had here in Colorado. Hopefully there will be spots though that put on a nice show.

We had kind of a weird season this year of fall foliage. What started out promising was soon blown and withered away by an early season cold snap and snowfall.

I went to the Colorado high country right before the storm and got some decent pictures but none of the big, sweeping mountainsides of yellow like I hoped.

At one point on Guanella Pass, my daughter and I were out hiking and rather than looking up, I looked down. I kind of liked this shot with all the different colors. A good reminder to look all directions as you never know what you might find.

Such a beautiful and peaceful scene my daughter and I came along last week while on our fall colors drive. A quiet dirt road in the Colorado high country with the golden leaves above and the sun bursting through. It was a very peaceful moment as we strolled along just taking it in.

One of the better areas of fall colors I found yesterday just east of Breckenridge, Colorado. This was my first time here and it proved to be a nice photo stop. The mine operated from the 1880s into the 1970s where they pulled silver, gold, lead and zinc from the ground.

A beautiful day in the Colorado high country today and well worth spending a day off to go up there. The colors are still a bit hit or miss but there were some worthy spots. This particular pic was taken on Guanella Pass with me lying on my back looking straight up. 😉

A stunning scene in the Southpark area on September 24, 2016.

Normally, this is the weekend I would head high into the #mountains and capture golden landscapes like this. Mother Nature had other ideas this year and with our wet winter and spring, the green is holding on a bit longer. It may be a week or two before something like this is repeated.

Hopefully I can be there to capture it.